


Desperate Measures

by fernitron007



Series: Trench Inspired. [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alcohol, Birthday, Clubbing, F/M, Fluff, Free Drinks, Marianas Trench - Freeform, bartending, implied Hinny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-11 23:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4457069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fernitron007/pseuds/fernitron007
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Ginny's 19th birthday and she convinces Hermione to go muggle clubbing with her. Now who could the bartender be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desperate Measures

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, guys! Thanks to everybody that gave kudos on the last oneshot, I really appreciate it *-* :D This ficlet is inspired in "Desperate Measures" by Marianas Trench. Sorry about always using alcohol to get one or the other to talk, but I like the fact that they need to be that vulnerable to actually feel like it's not impossible xD
> 
> "When I got you right where I want you,  
> I've been pushing for this for so long.  
> Kiss me, just once, for luck  
> These are desperate measures now"

 

“Please, Hermione! It’ll just be us! We’ll have a few drinks, maybe dance and then we’ll go home,” said Ginny to her friend, pouting. “Come on, it’s my birthday. For me?”

“Oh, okay, I’ll go.” Said Hermione, rolling her eyes and pretending to be annoyed. She really didn’t want to go, but it was Ginny’s birthday after all. “But you owe me big time.”

Ginny smiled gleefully and hugged her. “Okay! But we’ll have to go shopping.”

Hermione nodded along as her friend listed the things she needed to buy and prepared herself mentally for the dress Ginny was probably going to make her wear. She didn’t understand why Ginny wanted to go to a muggle club, but the least she could do was tag along, smile and make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.

“Okay, so we’ll go shopping on Friday morning and I’ll be at your place on Saturday at half past eight.”

“Great.” Hermione managed to say, with all the fake enthusiasm she could muster before Ginny smiled and apparated back to her flat.

**(*)**

Hermione glanced at her clock. 08:22. Ginny would be here any moment. She sighed, put her book down and made her way to the kitchen to make some tea. When she was about to take the first sip from her favourite mug, someone knocked on the door. 08:29. She smiled to herself and opened the door with a flick of her wand.

“Hey, Mione!” Said Ginny cheerfully, as she closed the door behind her and put a few shopping bags on Hermione’s kitchen table. “Shall we get to work?”

“I’m quite comfortable here, thank you.” Said Hermione, smiling as Ginny started to look like a time bomb. It was fun to get under someone’s skin for a change. “Okay okay! I’m all yours. Lead the way!”

Her friend smiled at her. Dressing Hermione up was half the fun of going out. She did her hair and makeup and didn’t let her look in the mirror until she was finished, dress and all.

Hermione was gobsmacked. She examined herself in the mirror, confused at first, but happy to still be able to see herself. Ginny had used a combination of gold and brown eye shadow, making her eyes look bigger and brighter. She had also used a minimal amount of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to braid her hair into a wraparound head band (seriously, Ginny had to stop using YouTube). But she couldn’t complain, she felt great.

“So… do you like it?” Asked Ginny, trying not to smile. “I love it!”

After that, Ginny took care of her own makeup and pretty soon they were ready to go. They took a last glance in the mirror before they left. Ginny was wearing her favourite little black dress with black flats and Hermione wore a ¾ sleeved red dress with black heels and a gold necklace. She smiled at her reflection, she hadn’t chosen the red dress because it was flamboyant, but because it made her feel brave, like a Gryffindor. Maybe that would be enough to get her through the night.

**(*)**

They apparated into a dark alley and made their way into the busy streets of London.

“Come on, Mione!” Said Ginny, pulling her towards the biggest club on the street.

Hermione was about to join the queue but saw Ginny talking, no, flirting with the bouncer. She nodded to her friend disapprovingly, but Ginny just smiled at her and gestured her to go inside. Not daring to look up in case the bloke changed his mind, Hermione rushed inside, followed closely by Ginny.

“You’ve done this before!” Hermione scolded her.

“Calm down, Mione! It’s not like it’s a crime! Fred and George sometimes bartend here,” said Ginny, looking around.

“Bartend? Why?”

“Oh, they just fill in for a friend once in a while. George slips me a free drink every now and then, but Fred won’t, says it’s not against the law to sell me drinks, but that he won’t enable me either way. Although he sells them cheaper when he’s in a good mood. Oh, I hope George’s bartending tonight!”

Hermione grinned but didn’t let her friend see it. She didn’t disapprove of her behaviour per se, but was happy that at least the twins attempted to keep their little sister in check.

After a thorough search, Ginny pointed to a redhead at one of the bars “There he is! Come on!”

She took Hermione’s hand so they wouldn’t get lost in the crowd of people and started towards him. “I hope it’s George.” Hermione managed to hear her mumble. But upon closer inspection of the man, she knew it was Fred, even though her friend still hadn’t noticed.

“Hey-o Georgie?” said Ginny, tentatively, but Fred smiled at them and answered “Hey-o! Happy birthday, sis!” while trying to hug her over the bar. Ginny looked very pleased with herself and kept grinning at her friend. Hermione could only imagine Ginny singing “It’s George it’s George it’s George!” over and over and over again in her head.

“Okay, this is what we thought as a present. You can either wait until tomorrow and we will give you a nice present worthy of a fine lady like yourself” Ginny smirked at this. “Or you can have free drinks all night, they’re on us, until I deem you unfit to keep at it. Do we have a deal?” Ginny was practically glowing. She shook Fred’s outstretched hand. “We have a deal.”

Ginny took her first pair of drinks, gave one to Hermione and told her she’d have a look around, see if she knew anyone. Hermione didn’t object. She’d need a few drinks in her before she could dance, so she stayed with Fred, yes, it was most definitely Fred, sitting on a stool with one leg crossed over the other, taking little sips of her drink.

When the bar finally emptied, Fred leaned towards Hermione, who had already downed half of her drink.

“So, Hermione. What brings your stunning self around here?” asked Fred, with a devious smile.

“Making sure your little sister doesn’t get into trouble.” 

“Hey, what’s wrong with a little trouble?” He asked her, raising his eyebrows at her.

“Absolutely nothing.” 

“So, why’d you leave your better half at home?” She asked him, smiling.

“Oh, Georgie had this great idea about a product for the shop and- fuck.” Hermione laughed really hard. “Did you know or was that a pleasant mistake?”

“I knew before we even talked to you, but don’t worry, I didn’t tell Ginny. Why would you lie anyway?”

“Because I wanted to give her free drinks for her birthday, but I didn’t want her thinking it was going to happen again any time soon,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

She smiled at him and he smiled back. Maybe it was the alcohol, the (lack of) lights or something, but Fred Weasley was looking something close to very handsome. She had a sudden urge of counting his freckles and stroking his red hair, but settled for blushing and fumbling with her drink instead.

Fred noticed her blush, but didn’t say anything about it. Instead he smiled and poured himself a drink. “To Ginny.” Hermione clinked her glass to his: “To Ginny.” and took one last swig from it, draining it of whatever liquid was left.

“Okay, my little sister may just be having fun, but you’re looking for trouble.” He said with a wink.

“Maybe I am.” She said, trying to sound convincing.

“Well, you found me.”

**(*)**

Ginny approached them nearly an hour later looking guilty, but instead was so shocked with what she found and forgot the excuse she had made for taking so much.

“One, two… Three!” They chanted, licked the salt off of the back of their hands, drank from their shot glass and put a lemon wedge in their mouth, laughing.

“Okay, someone’s having fun tonight. Are you okay, hun?” she asked Hermione, clearly worried. “I’m fine, Gin! We’re just having some fun!”

“Mmm, Georgie, how much of these has she had already?” Fred was a tiny bit tipsy, but he could hold his ground.

“Oh, just a few. Really, don’t worry about her, sis. If you want to keep circling the room, I’ll take care of Mione.”

“Oh, no. I am not going to just leave her with you. I dragged her out here!” said the redhead, but her brother looked at her imploringly. “Please, Gin?”

“Oh fine, but we’re going to dance for a while, she owes me that. Come on, Mione!” She said, taking the other girls hand and dragging her to the dance floor.

The DJ was really good. The music was no Weird Sisters, but it was pretty good for muggle music, Ginny thought. It looked like Hermione thought so too, because she was swaying uninhibitedly and even singing along at times. Ginny caught her big brother glancing at them (well, at Hermione) from time to time and smiled to herself. She knew it was Fred because George had texted her after she left them at the bar, asking if she had gotten in okay. Hermione probably also knew, since she was doing shots with him. She’d had a crush on Fred a few years ago, and Ginny doubted Hermione would forget which twin was which. And she had an idea.

**(*)**

After a few songs (Hermione had sung all of them), Ginny grabbed her wrist and led her to a corner where they could actually hear each other.

“Hey, Mione. I’m feeling kind of under the weather. I think I’m going to leave. I can apparate on my own if you want to stay. Harry will probably be happy I’m home early,” said the redhead.

Hermione looked panicked and shook her head vigorously "You can’t leave by yourself! I’ll come with you, say hi to Harry and then head home.”

Ginny looked her in the eye and smiled. “Come on, Mione. I know that’s Fred. Now go and get him! I officially give you my blessing.”

Hermione’s face had turned red and she looked terribly flustered. “Oh, come on, Ginny. You know Fred never looked at me that way.”

“Well, the alcohol must’ve had an effect on you, because he’s been looking at you that way all night and you haven’t noticed. So much for the brightest witch of her age!” Said Ginny, poking her playfully in the ribs. “Now come on, sober up and make it happen!”

The brunette giggled and glanced at Fred. He was looking at them and smiled at her when she caught his eye.

“Hey, I like spending time with your brother, and if you want to leave, I can stay a while longer, but I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s all I wanted.” 

They approached the bar together so Ginny could say goodbye to her brother. She hugged him, hugged Hermione ( _text me when you get home_ , she had whispered to her) and walked through the crowd and out the door to the chilly night.

“Fred, can you give me a glass of water, please?” asked Hermione, rubbing her temples. Her head was starting to throb, and the loud music wasn’t helping at all. She checked her phone and saw that Ginny had gotten home alright. That made her feel a bit better. Fred handed her a glass and sat in front of her, studying her. He was making her feel uneasy.

“What’s wrong, Fred?”

He sighed in a defeated way that made him look vulnerable. Hermione didn’t understand what was going through his mind. Did he not want Ginny to leave? Was being with Hermione that dull? After all, he was a troublemaker and she was a bookworm. He took what looked like a deep breath and smiled.

“Wanna go for a walk? I need some air.”

“What about your shift?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It ended a while ago. Please?” She smiled, unable to see where he was going with this. “Of course, Fred.”

Fred took his jacket in one hand, took her hand in the other and maneuvered them through the crowd. He didn’t let go of her her until they reached a wooden bench and he sat down, offering her the seat next to him. Hermione sat down and rubbed her arms with her hands trying to warm them up again. Fred noticed and offered her his jacket.

“Thanks.” She mumbled, fitting her arms through the sleeves.

“Hermione?” He asked, in a low trembled voice, she barely heard him. “Yes?”

He took another gulp of air. “I really want to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you all night. Hell, I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the Yule Ball.”

She blushed deeply and concealed the smile she couldn’t stop by looking at her hands in her lap. When she looked up he was so close to her that she stopped breathing. She could count every single one of his freckles if she wanted.

“F-Fred, I-I, uhm-“she stuttered, and pulled away from him, terribly confused and not knowing what to do other than look at her hands again. He had always been able to render her speechless when he wanted, and sometimes she let him because she knew he felt it was a little victory, she enjoyed making him smile. She missed him when he wasn’t around. His hands had found their way back to hers and she felt warm all over. She started to feel giddy and finally looked at him. He still looked hopeful, as though expecting her to have to think it through. She smiled at him.

“Well then, kiss me.” She said clearly, abruptly. Fred was caught off guard. “What?”

“Did I stutter? Go on, kiss me, Weasley!” Said Hermione laughing.

Fred cracked an ear to ear smile, cupped Hermione’s face and kissed her softly on the lips.

**(*)**

Hermione went home not long after she and Fred kissed. They had promised to see each other the next day. She hummed a cheerful tune as she locked the door behind her and made her way to her bedroom. She landed on her bed with a dull thud and didn’t bother to get out of her dress. She dozed off almost instantly and dreamt of red hair, freckles, brown eyes and soft kisses.

When she woke up the next morning, she had a bad headache. Mentally berating Ginny for making her go to a muggle club out of all things, she stayed in bed waiting for it to pass. She only remembered bits and pieces of last night.

Hermione checked her phone to make sure Ginny knew she was okay (even though she didn’t deserve it) and was surprised to see a text from Fred Weasley.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

She suddenly remembered what had happened and smiled. She wouldn’t be able to be mad at Ginny for long.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I couldn't resist adding the "did i stutter" part because I love that song ♥  
> P/S: I still really recommend the band xD


End file.
